The Crossing by Joy Nash

Author:Joy Nash [Nash, Joy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4285-0556-8
Publisher: Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.
Published: 2008-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

After what seemed like hours, Malachi’s elevator to Hell slammed to a stop, jarring Artemis’s skull against the side wall of the car. The impact vibrated inside her head like a hammer on a gong. For several moments, the tremors in her brain overrode coherent thought.

Then all sound ceased.

For a brief, heart-stopping moment, Artemis thought she was dead. But no. If she were dead, her head wouldn’t be killing her. Or maybe it would—she didn’t know. But certainly, if she were dead, Mac’s arms wouldn’t be clamped tightly around her, and his heart wouldn’t be thudding in the same life-affirming rhythm as her own.

He’d come after her. After all the lies she told him, after what she’d done to him, Mac had plunged into Malachi’s death realm, intent on rescuing her. She tried, but she couldn’t quite get her mind wrapped around that stunning, impossible thought.

She buried her face in his chest and clung to him. He smelled earthy, sweaty. Alive. His body was warm and solid and more comforting than she deserved.

And he’d cast death magic. What did that mean?

He rubbed the back of her neck, erasing the lingering soreness left by Malachi’s touch. She felt a puff of breath at her temple as his lungs expelled a low laugh.

“Whoever heard of going to Hell in an elevator?” she said.

“Very funny, love. Trolling for a handbasket joke, are you?”

An unwilling chuckle escaped her own throat. “Unfortunately I’m not kidding, Mac. That’s where we’re headed.” She paused, sobering. “We might be there already.”

He cleared his throat, but didn’t immediately answer. It was too dark to see the disbelief she knew was in his eyes, but she could almost hear the wheels turning in his mind, reaching the only logical conclusion possible.

“You do realize that’s impossible,” he said finally. “I mean, popping in and out of demon realms—that’s one thing. Living creatures do it all the time. Going to Hell— actual Hell with a capital H—that’s just not done by people who aren’t dead.”

She eased out of his arms, when all she really wanted to do was stay. But she couldn’t afford the luxury of weakness. Or of hiding from what had to be done. If it still could be done.

Mac could very well have ruined everything.

A writhing mass of serpents twisted in her stomach. No. She would not believe she’d gotten this far only to fail.

“It’s not impossible for living people to go to Hell,” she said quietly. “It’s just…really, really difficult.”

She hiked herself to her feet; she heard Mac do the same. She wished she could see him, at least a little, but the darkness was so complete she couldn’t even see the shadow of her hand in front of her face. Feeling her way around the close confines of the elevator car, she found the button and pressed it. Nothing. Groping to the right, she found a vertical seam in the door and tried to pry the two halves open. She succeeded only in ripping off a fingernail.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.